


The Price of Happy Ever After

by TheLastWhiteRose



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Implied Ingrid/Sylvain, Pining, Unrequited Love, implied dimileth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26498953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastWhiteRose/pseuds/TheLastWhiteRose
Summary: All in all, it isn’t a bad predicament. Sure, Byleth has to pretend she doesn’t notice the way Sylvain’s eyes linger on her form just a tad too long to be purely friendly, and sure Sylvain has to pretend he doesn’t notice the way Byleth’s normally passive expression tightens in his company, but those are the costs one must pay to play the game.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Sylvain Jose Gautier/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	The Price of Happy Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> My writing process is getting hurt by guys who never cared about me, and then writing bad fanfiction. It is what it is.

It has to end today. 

When they first started getting together, in hurried quickies in storage closets, Sylvain assured her that this would be nothing more than a fling: a fun, no-strings attached relationship that they could both remember fondly when it was forever. Byleth agreed; after all, they were in the middle of a war, and feelings only complicated things that didn’t need to be complicated. They were friends, first and foremost, and lovers only when time allowed.

For a while, that’s all they were. Friends with benefits, emphasis on friends. They didn’t spend too much time in the mess hall chatting it up, and only met in the dark hours of the night to evade suspicion.

Lately, though, it feels like something different. Lately, he’s been spending longer nights in her room, gently brushing away the wayward strands of her hair. Lately, he’s been breaking his strict “no cuddling” rule, and the even stricter “no staying over” rule. And lately, she’s been falling for him. 

It can’t go on, though. She knows that she is just another common whore to him. That she is nothing but another notch on his belt. That all she is and ever will be is some stolen fun, and that her feelings will only hurt her in the end. 

Byleth jerks awake at the three sharp raps of her door, startling her from her reverie. She takes a deep breath, steadying her resolve, and takes the three shaky steps to the door. With a final glance up towards the bed Sothis used to sit on, she opens the door.

He is just as handsome as he was yesterday. His auburn hair is tousled, one strand delicately perched over his forehead, and Byleth fights the urge to brush it back and mash their lips together. His broad frame fills the doorway, and his dark brown eyes are loaded with so much mirth and barely concealed affection that if Byleth had a heart, it would break for what could’ve been.

“Hey,” he says, and he’s already leaning in for a kiss that Byleth can’t help but reciprocate. It feels natural to let his lips seal over hers, and Byleth lets herself savor this moment to keep her warm for the lonely winter nights ahead. 

When they part, her resolve steels itself again. “We need to talk,” she says, and Sylvain automatically steps into the room so she can close the door. 

“Sylvain, I know that when we started this relationship, we always said that there’d be no string attached. That it was just some harmless fun to keep our minds off this godforsaken war.” She pauses, watching him digest her words. “I can’t keep doing this anymore. I thought I could, but the sight of you with anyone else makes me-god, it makes me physically itch.”

“Byleth-“ he tries, but she cuts him off with a delicate hand. 

“Please, Sylvain, if I don’t get it all out now, I never will. It’s not fair to ask you to be anything than what we are now. You made it very clear from the start that all we are and all we would ever be is this. So, I’m sorry, but it has to end. You’re a good looking guy, and you’re kind and sweet and understanding. You could have every woman in the world, but you can’t have them and me too.” 

The hurt in his eyes does not go unnoticed by Byleth, but she averts her gaze, choosing instead to fixate on his chest.  _ This is probably the first time he’s ever been on the receiving end of a breakup,  _ she thinks, though the thought is dry and without humor. She knows that if she chances the wayward glance towards those mournful eyes, she’ll want to take back everything she said. 

She half expects him to argue, to fight for whatever it is that they have (and what  _ do _ they really have? A handful of nights spent masquerading as a couple, kept together haphazardly by duct tape, and bound to break), but all she gets in response is unspoken hurt. 

“I understand,” he says, and it is clear by his tone that he does.

* * *

Sylvain and Ingrid are happy, or at least not visibly unhappy. He brings her flowers, they go on dates, and he is at her side constantly, both in battle and outside of battle. For that, Byleth is grateful. It alleviates the ache in her chest, enough that the mere sight of Sylvain doesn’t threaten to make her knees buckle and her eyes water. 

Byleth, to her credit, is not unhappy. She busies herself with work and her former students, especially Dimitri, now that he’s come to his senses once again. He’s oddly soft around her, and Byleth finds that she too is soft around him. It doesn’t hurt that he fixes her with a longing stare everytime he thinks she’s not looking.

All in all, it isn’t a bad predicament. Sure, Byleth has to pretend she doesn’t notice the way Sylvain’s eyes linger on her form just a tad too long to be purely friendly, and sure Sylvain has to pretend he doesn’t notice the way Byleth’s normally passive expression tightens in his company, but those are the costs one must pay to play the game. 

It is what it is.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this, kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
